A civil servant was released by the magistrate's court here after serving a five-day remand to assist the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) probe into alleged bribery involving the Land and Survey Department. Pix by Malai Rosmah Tuah

KOTA KINABALU: A civil servant was released by the magistrate's court here after serving a five-day remand to assist the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) probe into alleged bribery involving the Land and Survey Department.

Magistrate Cindy Mc Juce Balitus set a RM10,000 bail with one local surety for the man, who is a land revenue assistant collector attached to the Beaufort Land and Survey Department.

She also ordered the 54-year-old civil servant to report to the MACC office once a month.

Meanwhile, Balitus extended the remand order against a 46-year-old man, who acted as a runner, by five days effective tomorrow to facilitate the probe into the alleged solicitation of a bribe amounting to RM35,000.

Both men were unrepresented.

The MACC's prosecuting officer Mohd Faliq Basiruddin said the commission would also be taking statements from several individuals attached to the department.

"We will be looking into forged documents and will be waiting for feedback from the district land and survey department," he said.

Both the civil servant and the runner were arrested seperately on Feb 8, following a report lodged by an individual earlier in the day.

The suspects allegedly solicited a bribe from the individual, who was seeking the release of their father’s land title from the Beaufort Land Title Department.

According to the facts of the case, the runner solicited the bribe from the victim on Feb 8.

His arrest led the MACC officer to the civil servant, who is believed to have conspired to be the middleman for a cut of the bribe.

The case is being investigated under Section 16 (a) (A) of the MACC Act 2009 for soliciting/receiving gratification.